Aaron Judge-Cal Raleigh AL MVP’s vote was by an incredibly close margin

Aaron Judge might have won the American League MVP award this season, but his competition was within reach.

Judge defeated Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh by just four first-place votes, the closest MVP race in any league since 2019, when Angels outfielder Mike Trout won by the same margin over Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.

Before that, the next closest AL MVP race came when the Twins’ Justin Morneau defeated Derek Jeter in 2006, with the first baseman receiving 15 first-place votes to Jeter’s 12.

Raleigh had one of the best offensive seasons for a catcher in recent memory, hitting an MLB-leading 60 home runs along with 125 RBIs and a .948 OPS.

The 28-year-old also helped the Mariners to their first ALCS appearance in 24 seasons, ultimately losing to the Blue Jays in seven games.

Despite Raleigh’s best efforts, it simply wasn’t enough to dethrone Judge, who now becomes the fourth Yankee to win consecutive MVP awards, and the first since Roger Maris did so after the 1960-61 seasons.

“When we play Seattle, the main goal is to make sure Cal [Raleigh] don’t beat you,” Judge said as he accepted the 2025 AL MVP award on Thursday.

Judge is also now in rare company: He is only the thirteenth player to win at least three MVP awards during his career, joining Yankees legends Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle, who have also accomplished the feat.

Alex Rodriguez has also won three MVP awards, but his first came while he was a member of the Rangers in 2003.

Along with the MVP, Judge also won the first batting title of his career, leading the majors with a .331 average.

“It’s pretty wild,” Judge said of the batting title. “You try not to think about it during the season. I try to keep my mind on all 162 and do what I can in today’s game to help our team win. You do what you can, give it your all, and you wake up the next day and do it again.”